Stay is one of the most useful commands that a dog can learn as it can save the life of the pet. The life of a pet is often endangered from accidents resulting from its habit of following the master. Most owners find training the dog to stay an overwhelming task. To stay put in one place for a time and not to be able to follow the master is against the nature of these energetic and affectionate dogs. Other obedience commands require the dog to perform a task but the stay command asks the dog to stay put. It would not be surprising then for the dog to ignore the stay command. However, the dog will eventually learn to stay with persistent training using positive reinforcements.
Dogs are very energetic thus it would be a good idea to allow the dog to expend its pent up energies before a training session so that the pet will not be all hyped up. Interesting sights, sounds and scents can easily make the dog's attention veer away from the training thus location with minimum distractions must be chosen. Because dogs have short attention spans they easily get bored thus the training sessions should only last for a few minutes.
A dog that was already trained to sit can be easily trained to stay. Stand in front of the sitting dog and hold your palm in front of the dog's face and say Stay in a clear voice. The no nonsense tone of your voice should entice the dog to obey the command.
A praise or a treat given as soon as the dog obeyed the command will make the dog follow the instruction again. After holding the position for a few seconds expect the dog to break the stay. You may need to help the dog remain in position by placing one hand on the chest and the other hand on the rear end. Don't forget to allow the dog to move by giving a release command.
Using the same command, repeat this training process as often as you can. Once the dog has steadily obeyed the command, you can make the dog stay in the same position longer and you can also take a few more steps away from the dog. The dog is slowly being trained to hold the stay position. You can move the training to a location with some distractions. You can try lengthening the distance between you and the dog and letting the dog stay in the same position for longer period before giving the release command.
Dogs are very energetic thus it would be a good idea to allow the dog to expend its pent up energies before a training session so that the pet will not be all hyped up. Interesting sights, sounds and scents can easily make the dog's attention veer away from the training thus location with minimum distractions must be chosen. Because dogs have short attention spans they easily get bored thus the training sessions should only last for a few minutes.
A dog that was already trained to sit can be easily trained to stay. Stand in front of the sitting dog and hold your palm in front of the dog's face and say Stay in a clear voice. The no nonsense tone of your voice should entice the dog to obey the command.
A praise or a treat given as soon as the dog obeyed the command will make the dog follow the instruction again. After holding the position for a few seconds expect the dog to break the stay. You may need to help the dog remain in position by placing one hand on the chest and the other hand on the rear end. Don't forget to allow the dog to move by giving a release command.
Using the same command, repeat this training process as often as you can. Once the dog has steadily obeyed the command, you can make the dog stay in the same position longer and you can also take a few more steps away from the dog. The dog is slowly being trained to hold the stay position. You can move the training to a location with some distractions. You can try lengthening the distance between you and the dog and letting the dog stay in the same position for longer period before giving the release command.
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